Lenten Regulations for 2010
(02-06-2010)
2010 Lenten Regulations for the Diocese of Santa Rosa
“TheLenten Season has a double character, namely to prepare both catechumens and faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery. The catechumens, both with the Rite of Election and Scrutinies, and by catechesis, are prepared for the celebration of the sacraments of Christian initiation; the faithful, ever more attentive to the Word of God and prayer, prepare themselves by penance for the renewal of their baptismal promises. (from:The Order of Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours and the Celebration of the Eucharist)
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The current discipline is as follows:
- Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence, that is, limited to a single, full meal and abstinence from meat.
- The other Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat.
- The law of fasting permits only one full meal a day, but it does allow the taking of some food in the morning and a second light meal at noon or in the evening, as you prefer. Persons who have completed their eighteenth (l8) year to the beginning of their sixtieth (60) year are obligated to fast.
- The law of abstinence from meat applies to all persons who have completed their 14th year of age
However, it is highly recommended that children from ages 7 to 14 years also follow the law of abstinence.
- All Catholics are encouraged to receive Holy Eucharist frequently during Lent and to receive the Sacrament of Penance so that all may be prepared to celebrate more fully the paschal mystery. Those who have received their first Holy Communion are to receive Holy Communion during the Easter season.
- The determination of these days of obligatory penance, as listed above, should not be understood as limiting the occasions for Christian penance. This penance is to help us see and shorten the distance between our present lives and the life God wants for each of us. “Penance should not be only internal and individual but external and social.” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #110)
- Marriages may be celebrated with Mass and the nuptial blessing should always be given. It is, however, contrary to the spirit of penance during Lent to plan an elaborate wedding with lavish decorations.
Confirmation at the Easter Vigil: All priests are reminded that Church law itself grants to pastors and parochial vicars the faculty to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation in the ceremony in which an adult or child over the age of seven received the Sacrament of Baptism or when receiving a baptized non-Catholic into full communion with the Church (canon 883, 2., see also canon 97.2). This faculty is also extended to the Confirmation of Catholics in various circumstances; cf. Faculties for Priests Ministering in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, the Sacrament of Confirmation, page 3. Please note that paragraph 27 of the National Statutes for the Catecumenate states that “The celebration of the sacrament of penance with candidates for Confirmation and Eucharist is to be carried out at a time prior to and distinct from the celebration of Confirmation and the Eucharist.”
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